The Metropolitan Police have arrested a man suspected to have been involved in an antisemitic assault last month on three Jewish members of the public.

Police confirmed today that a 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the incident. 

In the early hours of Sunday 21 January, three Israelis, all in their twenties, were attacked by a group of men in Leicester Square on their way to a nightclub, according to the Jewish Chronicle. 

One of the victims, 28-year-old Tehilla, told The Telegraph that she and her two friends were threatened by a group of people “swearing in Arabic” after they were overheard speaking in Hebrew. 

“They heard us talking and said, ‘are you Jewish?’. I said ‘yes, I’m Jewish,’ and then they started chanting ‘Free Palestine’, and ‘f*** Jews’,” said Tehilla. 

“So we just tried not to get into trouble, to walk away, but they started following us…it started with like two or three guys, and all of a sudden, they called all their friends and 15 to 20 guys started attacking us physically…I hurt my leg, they punched me in the neck,” she added.  

Tehilla was out with two male friends, both 25, who it is understood suffered blows to the head.

The police reportedly attended the scene 28 minutes after being called and were treating the incident as a hate crime. Police arrived at Tehilla’s house around 6pm on Sunday, some 16 hours after the first call.

Tehilla added that she “never thought this would happen in London”.

Chief Superintendent Louise Puddefoot, in charge of policing in Westminster, said today: “We are continuing to investigate an antisemitic hate crime that occurred in January and are working closely with the Community Security Trust to provide the victims with appropriate support whilst updating them on our investigation.

“Detectives have carried out an extensive review of CCTV footage from the area in order to try to identify those responsible, as well as speaking with local businesses to gather additional eye witness accounts.”

Puddefoot added: “I would again like to stress that there is no place for hate crime in London, and we are determined to identify those responsible for this cowardly attack.”

Write to us with your comments to be considered for publication at letters@reaction.life